{"id":2459,"date":"2013-01-28T07:17:49","date_gmt":"2013-01-27T21:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/?p=2459"},"modified":"2020-06-20T01:40:35","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T15:40:35","slug":"feeling-sleepy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/home\/feeling-sleepy\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeling Sleepy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It can be as dangerous as driving drunk and probably contributes just as much to accidents, including the fatal ones, just as much. But you won\u2019t find the boys and girls in blue standing on the side of the road asking you to breath into this little meter so they can find out whether you\u2019re under the influence of this thing. You can\u2019t regulate sales of this or perform any tests at the side of the road. Even clever Swedish cars like Saab<\/a> and Volvo<\/a> can\u2019t be fitted with a gadget that prevents you from driving when you fail the test (both these marques have optional accessories that prevent you from driving drunk).<\/p>\n

 
\nIt\u2019s about sleep. We all need it and an awful lot of us don\u2019t get enough of it in the modern world. And if you don\u2019t get enough of it, you can end up nodding off at the wheel. As anyone who\u2019s had a cranky baby could tell you, the sound of a car engine is rather soothing and can easily lull you off to sleep. It\u2019s particularly bad on country roads in Australia that involve long straight stretches where there\u2019s nothing to see except the road markings whizzing past you at a constant and predictable pattern. It\u2019s quite hypnotic late at night. It happened to my brother-in-law when he was working on a farm out the back of Adelaide. He was driving back from town late at night, perfectly sober, and fell asleep at the wheel. He lived to tell the tale, luckily for him, but others aren\u2019t so lucky and end up going off the road into a ditch or a tree or, worse still, another car.<\/p>\n

 
\nAccording to the NSW transport department, there are three main things we need to keep in mind to avoid driving tired. The first is your body clock. Humans are diurnal creatures rather than nocturnal animals, which means that we are designed to be awake when the sun is up and asleep when the sun is down. Our hormones are sensitive to natural light and when it gets dark, the signal goes out to tell you that it\u2019s time to go bye-byes. Driving at night means that you\u2019re more likely to feel sleepy and fall asleep at the wheel \u2013 and the risk absolutely soars in the small hours (i.e. between 12 midnight and about 5:30 in the morning). We also tend to have an energy slump at midday, so this can be another time when you can get sleepy.<\/p>\n

 
\nNumber two to consider is the state of your sleep account. Most adults need 7\u20139 hours of sleep every 24 hours, with 8 being a good average to aim for. If you don\u2019t get enough, you go into a sleep debt. Now, a small sleep debt can be paid back quickly by skipping a few TV programmes and going to bed early but a long-term one can cause major problems, with a tendency to fall asleep at the wheel being only one of them, although it is the one that is most likely to be fatal.<\/p>\n

 
\nNumber three is down to the individual. There are Night Owls and Early Birds. Early Birds usually just bounce out of bed ready to go (and have a tendency to fall asleep earlier in the evening). Night Owls hate alarm clock and even though they\u2019re up on their feet, they don\u2019t get fully underway until being awake for half an hour. Night Owls should be careful not to get up so late that they have to drive while they\u2019re still in zombie mode. On a long journey that\u2019s going to take all day, it\u2019s wise to share the driving between a Night Owl and an Early Bird, with the Early Bird doing the driving during the first part of the day while the Owl sits groggily in the passenger seat, and the Night Owl taking over in the latter half of the day. If you\u2019re alone, plan long drives accordingly: if you\u2019re an Early Bird, start your trip earlier in the day; if you\u2019re a Night Owl, start at the normal time and keep going for a bit longer.<\/p>\n

 
\nWhat can you do if you\u2019re miles from home and you know you\u2019re tired for whatever reason? The following can help and might literally save your life:<\/p>\n

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